“You don’t have freedom of choice until you’ve earned it, until you’ve put in that time.”

Yes! The other night I went to see the Guns N Roses in concert (free tickets, free parking; free food; the power of networking), as they were playing I was thinking how much work they had to put in to become the Guns N Roses we know… I mean, 50K people watching you, paying to watch you, and **happy** to pay you. It takes a lot of time, effort, smartness to get there. Now that they’re rich and powerful they can probably do whatever they want.
I compared their music to that of the cover band (which was actually pretty good). Two different planets. Just listening to Slash; yes he looks alternative, long hair etc. But his music? He’s a professional. He is THE ultimate professional in his profession. I am sure that he takes his job seriously; I bet that he is obsessed by it, and I bet that he was obsessed by it when he started.
The Guns N Roses became what they are not because of a miracle, but because they earned to be the Guns N Roses.

It took me 10 years to build a real estate business. No one cared, and I didn’t expect them to. Now I leave on vacation for a month at a time and people keep asking how can I do it? Because of what I did the last 10 years.

Great message, Victor. Many people don’t truly understand the sacrifice it takes. They think they do, they think they can hack it, but they can’t.
Thank for putting this message out there again and again.
Much needed in this age of entitlement.

Hey victor great post, I’m a frecuently reader of B&D but this post come to me in a good moment, I just have 19 years old but I moved to costa rica 4 months ago looking for a better lifestyle has been really hard some days I feel depressed like it was an error, but other days I feel like this, it’s a sacrifice for the future, it’s hard leave everything family, friends or a lifestyle but I feel that in a futuro it will worth it, I’m keeping fighting for my future man I feel that it woth it!

Hey man, I moved to Costa Rica when I was 18 to work online. Spent a year there alone in a cramped apartment, depressed at many times inside my head – but I kept working and built a business. 21 now and back in CR in San Jose. Feel free to search me on Facebook if you’re in the area. Ultimately you should find a balance between your hustle and life. Too much work alone causes depression and results in low productivity. This is how most people are, not everyone – some can go months alone without problems. I left the tropics to return to England because I couldn’t create a lifestyle for myself at the time. Back now with confidence and social skills I built a group of friends and found a balance between working alone during the day and seeing people in the evening. Not exactly what you were referring to – but this is what I found to be the #1 cause of depression and downward spirals – being alone inside your head too much – it’s something nobody talks about when selling the dream of Internet riches. Being in a foreign country as a young kid makes it harder. Discipline – waking up at the right times, gym, forcing yourself to meet people – these are the things that allowed me to prosper alone in foreign countries working online.

I know what you mean man. I gave up four years and now I’m financially independent and can do what I want with my time. I’m free. But most people along the way kept trying to get me to be okay with not being free. They kept telling me that I was immature…delusional…or wet behind the ears.

That’s when I had to just break off into my own island and put in my time alone. It takes balls to trust yourself when everyone else is telling you that they know better than you. That’s why you just need to ignore them altogether.

At any rate, I’m at an intersection…but I don’t consider myself as free as I can be. Although I make decent money independently, it’s still not 100% on my own terms. So now I’m at the point of diving in for another four years to get to a place where I get to make money in exactly the ways I want to, without having to answer to anyone.

Sounds selfish, but you and I both know that being selfish is the only way to create the life you want to live. Sure you have to give value to the world, but doing it on your own terms is the only way to be rich, free and happy.

“Sounds selfish, but you and I both know that being selfish is the only way to create the life you want to live. Sure you have to give value to the world, but doing it on your own terms is the only way to be rich, free and happy.”

I’ve just begun reading Ryan Holliday’s Ego is the Enemy. Just hit on this quote after reading your post.

silence is strength—particularly early on in any journey. As the philosopher (and as it happens, a hater of newspapers and their chatter) Kierkegaard warned, “Mere gossip anticipates real talk, and to express what is still in thought weakens action by forestalling it.”

If I knew this when I was younger…….. Fuck that I know it now, and that’s all that matters.

But seriously, when I was younger I’d be more than happy to “talk”, “I’m gunna do this, I’m gunna do that” No! You’re not going to do anything if you don’t shut up and you do it.

Enter the Victor Pride tunnel, knuckle down, and ignore the rest of the world. Don’t tell anyone what you’re working on, just work.

Here’s a better message. If you want to build a real future simply build as many loving relationships as you can. That is actually the purpose of life. Being free and rich is not the purpose of life because it’s nothing gained. You can’t take it with you and spending your life lonely is a waste of life. Thinking your building something material is silly. We are all dead already. Time is an illusion. For a billion years you didn’t exist. Now you have a few breaths before you won’t exist again for another billion years. You only think you have time. Love every minute. It’s all you have.

“We are all dead already. Time is an illusion. For a billion years you didn’t exist. Now you have a few breaths before you won’t exist again for another billion years.”

WTF? are you serious? it’s such post-modern, pseduo-new age bullcrap like this that’s killing today’s youth, poor you, why even try? You may be dead chump but winners are alive. Go back to your video games now…..you are on the wrong web site

Dear Vic, thank you for this video. I follow your blog since 3 years and learned a lot from you. Started building an online business. Lived 8 month in Vietnam in the last 2 years. I’m no more alone. Made some good cash with bold decisions. Back now in the west with a better lifestyle. A lot of inspiration of my way comes from your blog. Thanks again for your content from the past until now. I like you put more effort in B&D now again!

I have to agree that in order to achieve success you must put in the time that it will take for you to reach that goal or phase. I’m glad that you used the movie “Castaway” as an example, because many people did not actually understand the change that Tom Hanks went through. He suffered for 4 years alone with no one around to help him or take care of him and when he came back he was an outsider. But what got me was how he realized how much he had changed and learned as the world left him behind.

I remember being out to Sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a Ship! Being out to Sea away from everyone I knew for half a year. I remember looking out into the ocean and seeing the vastness of it. It humbled me and at the same time it has changed me it has made me better know myself and handle anything that came my way! Even to this day when i feel my that I’m at the end of my rope. I will go back to that Ocean in my mind. I took the time of building up to that point. I wanted to see the world and with time I traveled all over, saw War first hand and even crossed the Suez Canal.

It took time for me to get to where I’am today. Time has molded me, taught me as well as help me experience many good and bad hings that now I feel life cannot hold me back unless I allow it.

As Men we cannot think of time as a negative but more of a positive! Time makes great Men! Men who do great things like Victor who was able to change his life for the better! Time carves boys into Real Men with goals and ambitions! We need more of that!

Just like Tom Hanks who sat in the intersection wondering which way he wanted his life to go! You too one day will come to that intersection and decide which way to go! But to choose wisely you must have experience and only TIME can provide that.

This is the hardest concept for most to understand. People can’t fathom the fact that it takes 5/6 years of learning and building without earning a dime. No one wants to put in that time and hard work.

Why? Because of ZERO work ethic & entitlement. Our generation is soft and is not willing to put their ego on the line with something they may fail at.

After having gone through something similar to Victor’s 5 year journey, it came to light that this isolation to learn & build came in 3 main phases..

The first couple years are what I like to call “The Suck Phase”: no matter what path you choose, your going to blow at it for a long time. The majority will give up here and never get to a point where substantial progress can be noticed, appeased and justified by reward in peace of mind.

Then theres a very exciting “Crushing It Phase”: when you become good at what you do and can see a formidable future. At this stage it’s very important to stay grounded. One must understand how much more work is ahead. Its important not to bow to your own complacent delusions. This is the delusion in thinking you know it all and theres no more wisdom left to gain. Once you hit the market in your field with that mindset, you will be destroyed.

There is ALWAYS wisdom to gain.

Then there is the “Darkest Before Dawn Phase”: you have the skills, knowledge, & a plan to execute your destiny; but the biggest enemy of all stands in your way. Who or what you ask? YOURSELF.

Victor is a badass motherfucker for creating a business in overcoming & transforming the SELF. For those who have made it to this phase, Bold & Determined is needed now more than ever. This stage will make or break you.

This concept of fucking off to a distant land and learning skills to build a future isn’t something new. Its called College. The problem is that the entire system, as like most systems in society, is broken. Universities are now the antithesis of what they once represented.

Not only is the INDUSTRY of Academics shrouded in a manifesto of uncontrollable debt, extreme social segregation & nutritional deprivation- there is very little Return On Investment.

What I think Victor is communicating is this very plain and simple fact: you need to create your own Personal Badass University.

PBU bitches.

Victor chose complete isolation, which is most likely the ideal move, but some of you just can’t make the move (or don’t have the balls to do it). Its not the end of the line…

You can engage in such a journey within your current circumstances. Being in school, having a 9-5, family priorities.. Its all bullshit excuses we use to fetter our minds and defer from the path. But I don’t need to tell you that. This is the reoccurring theme here at B&D.

Victor is always emphasizing a message for the young guys but it always applies to all.

If you are indeed in college right now, I recommend you do exactly what I did: OPT THE FUCK OUT OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.

That doesn’t mean drop out. It means get your priorities in order and make some sacrifices that your peers could not possibly fathom.

Decide what you want to build and start learning on your own. Your empire comes first, your scholastic duties come second. Maybe a part-time job is third. Your social activities should be dead last to non-existent.

The only time you spend with others should be with peers. These are the ones you believe will become part of your network or benefit some way in the future.

YouTube has more technical knowledge than any classroom and its free. Use it diligently !!

Somewhere, at some point in the realm we call earth, a generous like-minded human being has uploaded a video ( a series perhaps) explaining exactly what you need to know. This is a wild time in history. Its all at our fingertips.

I’m 5 years deep now. I gave myself a complete Youtube education in Audio Engineering, created a whole new style of Cinematic Music, recently launched a website marketing to other composers and producers, & put myself in the same room with one of the greatest producers on earth.

REAL recognizes REAL. After you put in that work, Masters in the industry will take notice. There is an aura about you. They went through it themselves and they know exactly what your made of.

This shit isn’t impossible. I’m just a dude from a small town in the smallest state of Rhode Island. Just happens that my pops raised me like SEABEE and I don’t take NO for an answer…

In war there is a headquarters, utility infrastructure, defense patrol, recon squad, frontline, convoy, & special ops. SEABEE’s were the first battalion to not only hit the battlefield, but to fucking build the battlefield. They’d construct the entire HQ, install utilities and then grab a weapon to fight along side any other battalion that was next to show up (Recon, Seals whomever).

Every SEABEE would integrate with every single facet of battle. This means that they had to be trained not only in all areas of construction and engineering, but also every field ops.

As Entrepreneurs, this is the very mentality that we need moving forward. We need to arm ourselves with knowledge in every single facet of our industry.

Just be decisive and put in the those 5 years.

Excuse the long post, but this topic got me fired up. Thank you Victor.

Well I understand the “metaphor”: “How To Get To Heaven” in this theme…

Interesting twist on the movie “Castaway” with Tom Hanks.

Yeah, it’s true we all go through that season in our lives where we “live on an island by ourselves” without any help from anyone else.

I’ve been there before “briefly” living homeless on the streets for a time.

I suppose in the end of the message the “solitary period of TIME” is meant to build our lives to our ends.

Looks like you’ve made the “material success” Vic, but I wonder about your “spiritual success” as well?

Either way, I know that’s your own personal decisions and preference.

It’s just for me, besides having the material success to be able to provide for myself, family, friends and help people of all walks of life… There needs to be that SPIRITUAL component as well.

I thank God I’ve found Him in CHRIST the LORD! Amen!

I be leery and concerned for you at times Mr. Pride in my prayers.

Only so much “success” you can have in this world, but does it amount in the end?

For who doth it profit a man… if he gain the whole world and *yet* lose his soul?

I don’t know if you purposely ignore GOD in your life to “do your own thing” (but in all honestly I suspect you do, if you want my opinion).

God has REVEALED Himself to every single human-being on this planet in one way or another. It’s up to them by His Grace whether they will choose to believe on the Son or not.

God-willing, I may still come by and comment from time-to-time, but I’m feeling led to move on.

I absolutely love your DRIVE and DEDICATION to your WORK as that’s what attracts me to your site; but I also am reminded you are not to my knowledge a believer of the Lord Jesus Christ; otherwise your works would have SUPERNATURAL POWER backed by GOD behind them.

Well, we’re all at different points in our life journeys…

God-willing, I’ll be around. May you and everyone here, take care out there in life. Amen.

Hard times test a Man’s character and it determines whether there is a winner or loser within the Man. He can’t be both. Either a winner or loser. Just like when you toss a coin, you either get heads or tails.

Most of it is a mental battle with oneself. Man vs himself. Each time he prevails, he comes out stronger than before and more redefined and the next challenge becomes more familiar.

The world respects self-made Man who made it to the top from scratch. Why do you think that mountain climbing Mt Everest is popular for daring, adventurous hikers? It is in sense a literal interpretation of a Man wanting to reach the top, in addition to, going through variety of dangerous obstacles and challenging himself beyond what he thought was/is impossible.

Just like a Man at the intersection is given a choice to make to proceed on or not. A Man with mission can be tuned with his own world in his own mind and rest of the surroundings will become background noise. People will often be curious but they are often spectators as they, too, can have a mission of their own but will choose to watch in awe and gawk at another Man’s path to success instead of creating their own.

When hard times hit, a Man only has himself to rely on. After he takes care of himself, only then he can take care of his family, loved ones and nearby people he cares about. Until then a Man can’t take care of his own people if he is a weak leader.

A dilemma of a Man is that when he seeks counseling from the society because he is going through struggle, then the world will laugh at him, attempt to shred apart his soul, mock and pour scathing laughter at him. But when a Man stands tall and triumphs through whatever stands in his way, the world will admire and respect him. This is especially true when you have a female partner. Never reveal and share your struggles with your female partner or anyone for that matter. The only thing people need to know is that you made it and see your end results. That’s the price of being a Man.

The society and the world has a HIGH expectation from a Man. He is only to show strength (inner and outer) and never reveal weaknesses.

A Man who is going through tough times may seek some form of solace to go through physical and/or mental stimulation. IRON. Working out with iron toughens a Man via physical and mental. And even here, a Man only has himself as he is testing himself to overcome plateau (number of reps, sets, weight usage). That last rep you are pushing is mostly done from your mind+body.

Someone who dislikes you but at the same time respects you is better than someone who ‘likes’ you but pities you at the same time. Clever enemy is better than a foolish friend.

Whether you are on an Island, city, or road intersection, the only true form of reliance should be yourself — SELF RELIANCE. At the end of the day.

Dude, makes sense, I had a rough week at work (sales) and called multiple people to try and vent and none of them answered or understood my situation. One friend answered and leveled with me but he told me my goal was too lofty, that i needed to be more “realistic” well realistic is for losers, I have gotten back in the gym and 100% agree IRON is your best friend and solace form life’s storms.

I never understood this whole “I’m a self-made man” it is a myth.
What is a business without the people?Nothing.What is a Man without a woman?Nothing.What is a man without God?Nothing.It takes two to tango my friend.Male-female,Night-Day,Positive-Negative.Seed-Soil.Plus-Minus.Sun-Moon.Left-Right.

To reply to Scooter. For a self-made Man, I would be talking about a Man who built himself to be very valuable in the eyes of society that people are willing to pay to see him, pay for his products, pay for his services, and learn from him.

Of course, business can’t happen without people. But if someone made himself so valuable, people will come. Just like this website; Victor doesn’t even need to put any work in marketing and I bet people will still follow him on twitter, check out his instagram and read his blog bold and determined. Victor made himself valuable and has a good blog with insightful articles. He has mastered the art of blogging and is authority. Therefore people come to him to listen to his words and some of these readers buy his eBooks, t-shirts, supplements, and coffees.

So to give you an example of a self-made man, I can say Victor Pride is one self-made Man.

Uncle Vic, this article was much needed. In honor of this video, I created an auto-response for all text messages and phone calls, saying, working on my goals with no distractions, will be reaching back out to you when i’ve accomplished these goals, thanks RhinoRyan

I first came upon your blog in 2012 and began to adapt it into my life. I love your philosophy man. This site became my bible. It turned me into a “yes or no” man. Taught me to know what I want and the truth behind being selfish. I definitely have moved to my own island. I know what it is like to start over with nothing.

I love that you’re posting frequently again. I really look forward to this. I’m getting back to being aggressive about my life and not living like a pussy. No excuses, just putting in the work.

I’ve been a B&D reader for three years, I’m 18 years old now and I thank God everyday for leading me to B&D at such an early age.

I live in the middle east, and as you all know, things are fucked up here. No economy, no security, no opportunities. And unless you have the right last name, your life is shit no matter what you do. My family isn’t that wealthy, we get by and we’re a little better than others. When I was 16 I was fat, awkward, stupid, shy, cowardly, apologetic, weak and meek. I was everything negative you could think of. I looked at my future and I was depressed. I couldn’t stand the idea of me spending the rest of my life in the middle east where I won’t be able to live any life of dignity, luxury, or even basic satisfaction.

I needed to leave.

But how? I couldn’t leave the country easily and I had no interest in living the life of a refugee in Europe. I needed to get out but on my own terms. If I’m gonna build my life I’m gonna do it with pride and dignity. And believe me friends, it wasn’t gonna come easy.

The very first thing I did was lose weight. Trust me, if your fat, your gonna hate yourself everyday and you’ll feel weak everyday. Get rid of that fat and watch yourself become a lion. In fact, that was the very first email I sent to Victory, I don’t know if he remembers (probably not, he gets tons of emails), and he told me the first thing that I had to do was lose weight.

I downloaded 30DoD (illegally cuz laws in the country didn’t allow internet transactions, sorry Vic, but I had to do it, I’ll buy a legal copy as soon as I can). The first day of 30DoD was brutal. I was never able to do a single pushup in my life! And now I’m supposed to do a HUNDRED!

But I didn’t quit. I put on some Lamb of God and got on the floor and almost tore my muscles trying to get that one pushup. Couldn’t do it. It went like that for a week. Finally, I was able to do it. And once I was able to do one pushup, I was able to do two pushups, then three, then five, then ten, then twenty, then fifty, etc.

In six months I had lost 30 kilograms and was able to do 100 pushups in a row.

Once I lost that weight, I felt… divine? Powerful? Amazing? Regal? Whatever it was, I felt ON FIRE!

But that didn’t really solve my problem did it? I felt great, now I had to build greatness.

I see a lot of teenagers comment on B&D articles asking Vic on advice on what to do, and Vic always answers “endure”.

Haha, that advice works for western children, but for me “to endure” meant “do nothing”.

My parents couldn’t prove the resources to get me out? Well, that means that I’ll just have to get myself out.

I deduced that the easiest way for me to get out was to get accepted into an American university. I know Vic opposes going to college, but in this context, it was a great choice.

No as an international student (universities like “diversity”) with good grades, I was sure I would get into at least one university. But that wasn’t enough. My family didn’t have the money to pay $50k a year, I needed a scholarship.

So I made a list of all the universities that offered full-ride scholarships and detailed the plan to get into each. And I spent the next two years fulfilling that plan. I worked harder in school. I took the SATs (2230). I did some bullshit charity work to beef up my resume. I did all the bullshit that was gonna get me accepted. I’d read so many damn books about the whole application process that I can’t even count them.

When the time to apply arrived last summer, my stomach was so stressed I was constipated through the entire ordeal. I spent months writing the best essay I could.

And when last March arrived, and with it came the results…

I didn’t manage to get into any Ivy (sucks I know), but I did manage to get into one of the best private universities in Florida (Rollins College). I did get my full-ride scholarship too. And now tomorrow morning my flight leaves to Orlando airport.

See those three years I always read B&D, but I never really commented. I never had anything to say because I was still young and inexperienced. I didn’t need to ask for advice because Victor tells everything so clearly. But most importantly, I was in the learning phase. I was building. I didn’t have time for bullshit.

These past three years were brutal, tense, and void of any fun. My friends would go out to get drunk and I would stay at home studying. My friends would go out to parties and hook up with girls and I would stay at home because I didn’t have the time for high-school relationship drama.

I depraved myself of the “fun” years.

Do I regret it? Hell no.

Now that I look back, those three years passed by in an instant. I’ve busted my ass off trying to do the impossible. And now I’ve got my ticket to paradise while those same friends are stuck here in Satan’s Armpit envying me.

So what now? What’s the plan? I’m majoring in business, but I have no interest in becoming a company drone. These four years ahead of me are crucial to my future. Not because of the things professors are gonna teach me, but because of all the free time and resources at my disposal. Am I gonna party? Sure, every now and then, fuck, I earned it. But more importantly, I’m gonna use these four years to build a blog, a vlog, an online business. And by the time I graduate, I would already have a steady means of income. And once again, I will laugh when my friends are struggling to get into bullshit paying jobs while I have my own money coming everyday.

I can’t thank Victor enough. I hope to meet him someday and buy him a drink. Three years ago, if you talked to that fat weak kid, you would’ve never thought that he would ever amount to anything.

He was weak.

Because of B&D, that kid is dead. Reborn as a lion, a dragon, a beast.

Now, I’m proud, I’m smart, I’m strong… I’m free.

For all those teenagers out there, just know that no matter how old you are or how powerless you feel, there’s always a way for you to take matters into your own hands. An idle time is time wasted. And as Vic always says, time is the most precious resource.

And now as soon as I arrive to the US, I’m registering my own blog through BAD.net. I won’t comment again until I make it.

Daniel, this is the best comment I have ever received on B&D and I have approved 23,000 comments and received may more. Job well done, young man. But it is just the beginning still. I want to hear from you after four years.

Wow Daniel. What a comment!!
One thing I loved is that you adapted what Victor is saying, and the reason I loved that is that it means that you’re not looking for a step-by-step manual (aka the easy way out), but for the concepts and how to apply them to your situation.
Keep on going man.
Since you’re in the US I strongly suggest that you listen to Dave Ramsey (I think that Victor mentioned him multiple times); his podcast is free online. It’s a great resource for financial management etc, with a lot of useful and practical advice.

Daniel well done. You’re 18 and hungry. Don’t let it fool you – hard years start at 25.

You already did a big task but you need to focus on next goal of becoming independent. Don’t worry about degree, focus on expertise. College will be even more tempting than highschool, ignore it and focus on getting as much exp as possible. This way, when 22 you have opportunity not just piece of paper. World needs job creators so focus on becoming expert at something specific.

Vic, that was one intense video and a strong message to people who think they can shoot for the stars without thinking long term and putting in the effort.. All B&D fellow men should watch the video instead of reading the article to get things straight in your head!

Good afternoon gentleman (and Victor) I am currently going to school this fall but I am working like hell on my soundcloud channel making the best new dubstep on the east coast no one else can make the music I can. Please let me know what you think about the newest releases I have no problem with sending B&D readers free downloads other people have to pay but this is my favorite site ever. If you want one please send me an email!